News

Business and education unite at Mount manufacturing conference

October 04, 2013

Newburgh, NY -

Keynote speaker Edward Reinfurt, director of Empire State
Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation
(NYSTAR), said that the future of manufacturing in New York
promises to be “exciting.”

Mount Saint Mary College proudly hosted the third annual Hudson
Valley Manufacturing Conference, titled “The Resurgence of
Manufacturing in New York State,” on Friday, October 4.

The conference was presented by the Center for Global Advanced
Manufacturing: a not-for-profit organization of academic
institutions and industry partners dedicated to the support of
innovative, advanced manufacturing in the Mid-Hudson and Mohawk
Valleys.

Held on National Manufacturing Day, the event was an opportunity
to look at common concerns and challenges, address a skilled labor
shortage, and attempt to ensure the ongoing prosperity of the
industry.

“We have enormous brain power right here in New York State. We
can have a booming industrial and manufacturing base if we
collaborate towards that goal,” he explained. “Manufacturing firms,
like colleges and universities, are economic engines with
employment, construction, and brainpower.”

Center for Global Advanced Manufacturing (CGAM) co-founder Carl
Meyer said that the Mount “is a very significant partner of CGAM.
[It] has been one of the strongest supporters of our work.”

Keynote speaker Edward Reinfurt, director of Empire State
Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation
(NYSTAR), discussed the state of manufacturing in New York.

“On this day, National Manufacturing Day, we look not so much at
where we’ve been, but where we are going. It’s exciting,” said
Reinfurt. “That’s what manufacturing is: innovative, responsible.
We have a sense of pride in what we do.”

Center for Global Advanced Manufacturing founder Carl E. Meyer
discussed the state of manufacturing in New York. Meyer is also
president/CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium.

CGAM held parallel conferences at two sites in New York State –
one at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh for Hudson Valley
attendees, and one at SUNYIT in Utica for Mohawk Valley
participants.

CGAM directly supports manufacturers by coordinating education
and training of the workforce and by providing incubation,
acceleration, and technology transfer facilities in both regions,
as well as training in areas of high demand for both employers and
students.